The Pastor’s Pen

Lincoln writes to encourage and build up God’s people with God’s Word.

Working next to others

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Church life, as with family and employment life, requires coexistence with others. It’s inescapable, the church is comprised of many different people, existing and operating as the body of Christ. Therefore, as members of this diverse body, we do things together; worship, pray, fellowship, eat, serve, make disciples, etc. Working together is central to most of our activities as Christians. It takes work with effort, to pull it all together, functioning as a healthy family of God, operating in unison for His common purpose.

As Nehemiah describes how Israel went about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah chapter 3 records some revealing phrases; “next to him,” “next to them,” and “after them.” A few words which  communicate much about the attitude and actions of a large work force. Nehemiah makes his point even stronger by repeating these phrases approximately 30 times in chapter 3 alone. While there are many lessons to be learnt from Nehimiah, a few catch my attention today.

As Nehemiah was God appointed, and assigned by the King as leader of this rebuilding project, he unashamedly informed those who opposed him that the God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build… (Neh 2:20). Opposition strengthened their resolve to get on with the job God had set for them. They had both a spiritual mandate and determination to carry out God’s will. Nehemiah 3:1 tells us that Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they started the building project. As soon as stage 1 was done they consecrated it to the Lord. Spiritual leadership set the standard and ensured everyone knew this project was God’s work.

Then we have the first use of the statement, and next to him; that is, next to Eliashib the high priest, the men of Jericho built (Neh 3:2). The labourers followed the working spiritual leadership of Eliashib. Nehemiah wisely joined with Eliashib to head this massive project. These 2 men first bonded in doing God’s work themselves, then in calling others to follow them by working with them. Of necessity, everyone had to sacrifice fierce individuality to operate as a unit. This was the only way God’s rebuilding project could ever succeed. This huge work force, from priest to rubble carrier, along with all the required support people, worked together. They worked next to each other, in close proximity to one another, one after the other in the structured  chain of operations needed for their single minded purpose – get the wall rebuilt.

The spiritual leadership and building principles implemented by Nehemiah and Eliashib were simple enough, yet they required the typical everyday labourer to join in and make it happen. Otherwise, the wall would remain nothing but a pile of useless rubble. This is a timeless principle for all of God’s people in all of God’s work. God’s people must work in single minded close proximity with one another to accomplish God’s purposes.

The apostle Paul requested this of the Philippian’ church. Paul wanted to hear that they were  standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents… (Philippians 1:27-28). While God’s opponents will always try to divide and separate God’s work force, God’s people pull together. Unity is powerful when it begins in our hearts and minds with soft humble attitudes towards one another.

May this principle be true in each of our lives today, as we seek to serve side by side in harmony for the common purpose of Jesus’ gospel, beginning in our own local church congregations.

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God of Rescue

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Israel’s 400 year enslavement under Egypt and their subsequent deliverance offer us numerous important lessons. Among these, a significant quality of the Lord that would have resonated with Israel at that time was Yahweh’s role as the God of rescue.

Exodus 2:23-25 reads, During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.

God permitted Israel to remain enslaved in Egypt far longer than they thought necessary (400 years). Yet a full rescue of the entire nation came precisely when Yahweh appointed it. Not a moment too late.  The man God used for the rescue mission was Moses, a man Israel neither recognised, nor wanted as their saviour. So it was, and remains today, with Jesus. Many fail to recognise Jesus Christ as their  Saviour and miss their only opportunity of rescue from the power of sin and the coming wrath.

Today, Israel remains in the safe hands of their divine rescuer. As Paul asks and answers in Romans 11:1, has God rejected his people Israel? By no means! …Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:26-27).

Through Moses, God used methods of rescue that neither Israel nor Egypt, in their wildest dreams, would ever have imagined. The Lord displayed His power and His determined will through the 10 plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 7-12), until Egypt finally released Israel. What’s more, Yahweh performed Israel’s rescue without asking their permission or getting them to contribute. In the end, Israels’ rescue through the divided waters of the Red Sea became Egypt’s’ judgement, drowning their entire army as they pursued Israel (Exodus 14).

For God, Israel’s rescue was personal, resulting from the covenant He had made with Israel’s forefather Abraham, then confirmed with Isaac and Jacob. When Israel called out to be saved from Egypt, God knew them as His covenant people, therefore divine rescue was inevitable.

While others watched God’s rescue of Israel with hatred, for those being rescued, the Lord’s deliverance was life changing and irreversible. There was to be no going back to Egypt’s enslavement, even though some later wanted that. So it is today, for those who put repentant faith in Jesus Christ, others may not understand, some may ridicule you or even cut you off. But rest secure, from God’s perspective, there is no going back.

As Christians, we have entrusted our lives to Him who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father (Galatians 1:4). It’s important for us to view our relationship with God through Jesus, to be our daily rescue from the sin that took Jesus to the cross on our behalf in the first place. As recipients of such grace, we are to have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Jude 1:22-23). Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore (others) on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). Through Jesus Christ, God is still the God of rescue.

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Selfless God

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

When considering the many components within a person’s character, selfishness, or selflessness, often stands out as obvious.

From the first sin ever committed, selfishness was in Lucifer’s heart when he thought to himself “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Not surprising then, that selfishness was at the heart of the serpent’s temptation of Eve, who looked upon the forbidden fruit, and in essence said to herself, eating will bring me pleasure. So she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband (Genesis 3:6). And to this day, we all experience the painful outcome of Eve’s selfish decision.

However, Yahweh is the opposite. From the beginning of time, He is seen to be selfless in His character and interactions with His creation. From a human perspective, none is more selfless than God’s son, Jesus Christ. Who made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:7-8). It should not surprize us then, that Jesus said selflessness is the second most important of all God’s commandments: You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31), which Paul repeated in Galatians 5:14.

The Christian life, especially church life, is not about self. Rather, it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ and His people, who Christ has partnered us with. Next to how you live Christ in your home and family, your local church congregation is the primary place where your true heart condition will express itself. Overflowing from your relationships within the family of God, will come your relationships with your non-believing friends and colleagues. Jesus explained this in John 13:35, by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Selfless love within the body of Christ is Jesus’ powerful declaration to the world of His selfless love expressed on the cross.

Jesus’ love is the foundation for Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5:1-2, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. If we desire to be increasingly like God, and we should, Jesus is our template. The self-sacrificing love Jesus has for us continues as a sweet smelling sacrifice to God, which we are to mimic.

Selfless God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all… (Romans 8:32). Oh, may we invite the severity of God’s example to grip our hearts? Yahweh surrendered His only Son to the cross for we sinners. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). How can we ever look at the world or our fellow Christian with selfish eyes with such a mountainous and glorious example before us.

May we today, pray with David, who pleaded in Psalm 119:36, Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! May we obey Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 2:3-4, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. In these ways, may we be imitators of God, as beloved children. May selfless God truly be our God, our Saviour, and our LORD. May selfless Jesus Christ, by the power of selfless Holy Spirit, dominate our characters and lives for His glory and the blessing of others.

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Jephthah the Faithful

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Judges chapters 11-12 begins with a married man by the name of Gilead, committed adultery with a prostitute, who gave birth to a boy who was named Jephthah. Jephthah grew up in his father’s household with his stepmother who also gave birth to other sons by Gilead. As the boys grew up, Jephthah’s half-brothers resented him and eventually drove him out of the family. You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. Consequently, Jephthah became a mighty warrior (Judges 11:1-3).

Sometime later, the Ammonites came to make war against Israel. The leaders of the tribe of Gilead sent for Jephthah, seeking military assistance. They offered to serve Jephthah if he helped them defeat their enemy, to which Jephthah agreed. Initially, Jephthah sent a conciliatory message to the Ammonite king attempting a peaceful solution. But they rejected, making war inevitable.

By now, Jephthah had an only daughter, and they lived in Mizpah. Foolishly, Jephthah promised God, saying, if you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering (Judges 11:30–31).

Well, Jephthah went to battle against the Ammonites and defeated them. Upon arriving home, his daughter was first to come out of the house to greet him (Judges 11:29, 32-34).

How could this have happened?

Apparently, it was customary for people of that time and place, to have animals living in the ground level of their house. Possibly Jephthah expected an animal to greet him first, not his daughter. As you can imagine, this unexpected surprize caused him enormous grief. What’s more surprizing, was his daughter’s response when he explained his vow to her. She accepted the consequences, only asking for two months to mourn first (Judges 11:37–38). At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made (Judges 11:39).

Jephthah kept his vow to God, and the event became an Israelite custom for the daughters of Israel to mourn the event yearly for four days (Judges 11:40).

However, following Jephthah’s defeat of the Ammonites, the Israelite tribe of Ephraim became angry with him for attacking the Ammonites without inviting them to help. They threatened to burn his house over him with fire (Judges 12:1). This led to a battle between the tribes, with Gilead killing 42,000 Ephraimites. Jephthah went on to judge Israel for six years (Judges 12:6-7).

Lessons from Jephthah:
1) God can use us now and in the future regardless of our background, our history, or what others think of us.
2) Be careful not to make rash promises.
3) Even when we do the right thing, we may have to endure hardship from others.
4) Like Jephthah, who lived a righteous life as judge over Israel, we too can faithfully walk with the Lord, despite our irregularities, our failings, and even our occasional foolish decisions.
5) God never withheld His Spirit’s blessing from Jephthah, who is recorded in 1 Samuel 12:11 and Hebrews 11:32, as a man of faith whom God used.
6) God does not look for reasons to discriminate against His children. Nor does He hold past faults against those who are repentant, forgiven, and cleansed in Jesus (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

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Weakness that strengthens

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

There’s a line of worldly thinking which conveys the idea that weakness deprives us of happiness, therefore, weakness must be bad, wrong, and unloving. Such people often view weakness as debilitating and of no value. As Christians, we need to be careful not to buy into this wrong thinking.

God, on the other hand, actively employs our weaknesses as a means for strengthening us with His divine resources and for the purpose of His glory. As we read Scripture, we repeatedly see the Lord achieving this in ways we never imagined possible. He does this by using our pains, our inabilities, our struggles, and even the criticism of others. Into this unpleasant mix, He adds His behind-the-scenes power, coordinating so-called chance happenings, and stirring our hearts by His Spirit to recognise His work. Most of the time, we’re not aware of His miraculous power at work, however, we often have the joy of seeing the gracious results.

Our Saviour is not a harsh task master, rather, Christ is our high priest who… sympathises …with our weaknesses, …who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He truly understands us. Therefore, view your struggles as the Lord views them, as customised opportunities to squash self-dependence while increasing our reliance upon His sufficiency. This requires persevering faith in His ability to meet our needs and to be glorified through our struggles.

The apostle Paul explains that while in Asia, the affliction they experienced… caused them to feel …utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8). While Paul confesses his vulnerability and desperation, he noticed that through his extreme suffering, Christ was rising to be Lord of his human priorities. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul recognised the essential opportunities for Christ’s purposes offered through times of suffering. In these times Christ’s strength can be experienced, causing inexplicable contentment.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, exhorts us to count it all joy… when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  Realising his reader’s difficulty in understanding their trials, James offers instruction with a promise. If any of you lacks wisdom… in relation to your trials …let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:2-5). Wisdom from the Lord infuses divine reasoning into our human experience, providing us with a heavenly perspective of our weakness and suffering.

The apostle Peter, who knew severe failure, uplifts his readers by reassuring them that God’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, growing our knowledge of God through His Word in difficult times is essential.

When we have exhausted all our ideas, energies, and resources, then are we set free from self to lean in dependant faith upon Christ. Through prayerfully reading God’s Word, we discover comfort in Christ and His majestic character. Through meditation upon His Word, we find earthly ease in recognising His sovereignty. We find relief while waiting for His intervention in our circumstances. We find peace, and even joy, from the truths of Scripture, and we find hope in His Lordship over our time and destiny.

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